Japanese university degrees will be taught abroad for the first time with the inauguration this week of the new Malaysia campus of Japan’s University of Tsukuba within the University of Malaya (UM) site in Kuala Lumpur.
The Malaysia campus, known as the School of Transdisciplinary Science and Design at the University of Tsukuba Malaysia, opened on 2 September, offering four-year undergraduate degrees. Classes are conducted in Japanese — a requirement — English and Malaysian.
Its opening follows more than six years of negotiation in the wake of a 2018 request from the Malaysian government led by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who was known for his ‘Look East’ policy towards Asia.
“The journey to bring the University of Tsukuba’s branch campus [to Malaysia] began in 2018 and today’s ceremony marks the successful culmination of these efforts,” Malaysia’s Minister of Higher Education Zambry Abdul Kadir said at the inauguration, adding: “This milestone is not only a testament to our hard work but also a remarkable achievement in the history of our collaboration.”
Currently the campus has 14 full-time faculty members comprising academics from both universities. They specialise in fields such as the environment, information technology, comparative literature, political science, and subcultures, with courses developed jointly with UM. Around 40 faculty are expected to come from Tsukuba in the future.
“The curriculum is diverse, encompassing data science, natural science, humanities and an immersion in Japanese language and culture,” noted Zambry, who said the partnership would allow Malaysia to observe innovative teaching methods and approaches at Tsukuba and potentially integrate them into Malaysian higher education.
Government subsidies
Operating costs for the new campus will be borne by the University of Tsukuba, but Japanese government subsidies also played a large role in establishing the university.
In 2023, the ministry set aside a budget of JPY1.5 billion (US$10.4 million) to support Japanese universities planning to set up campuses overseas. An objective is to develop internationally skilled students with Japanese language ability.
Ikuya Sugisato, an official at Japan’s education ministry, told University World News the initiative to offer a Japanese degree abroad was a concrete step aimed at showcasing Japanese higher education internationally, especially in science and technology.
“There is high expectation from the government for active enrolment in the new campus, especially among students from the ASEAN [Association of South East Asian Nations] countries. Tsukuba University provides closer access to state-of-the art Japanese research for youth in Asia,” he said.
Sugisato added that the aim was to invite undergraduates who are fluent in Japanese to enter graduate school in Japan and also to increase exchanges with Japanese students and researchers at University of Tsukuba.
Professor Akiyoshi Yonezawa, vice-director in the international strategy office at Tohoku University in Japan, agreed, saying: “The new Malaysia campus offering a degree abroad is an investment to enhance the globalisation of Japanese higher education, especially in Asia.”
Despite Japanese universities facing financial constraints, Yonezawa sees the new campus in the long-term as nurturing links between Japan and Southeast Asia through research and skilled youth.
A joint statement by UM and Tsukuba said: “Students will be able to work for global companies and organisations based in Malaysia or overseas, and play an active role in a sustainable manner after graduation.”
Kyosuke Nagata, president of the University of Tsukuba, said at the opening ceremony he envisioned a campus that “will develop experts on data science literacy who can apply ideas and technologies from the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences to a broad range of global issues”.
‘Critical limits’
In June this year, Nagata, who is also the president of the Japan Association of National Universities representing 82 national university corporations in Japan, said the country’s universities were “reaching a critical limit” in terms of financial stability due to soaring costs and reduced takings from tuition fees due to a declining student population. He called for an increase in operational subsidies from the government.
Professor Shun Ishihara, an expert on university governance at Meiji Gakuin University, noted that the new branch campus would help counter the effects of declining university enrolment in Japan due to demographic factors by producing graduates that can work in Japan.
However, smaller universities would not be able to invest in branch campuses. “Private smaller universities are especially sensitive to the fact that investments must be sustainable,” he said.
With Japan facing a skilled labour shortage, the government needs to increase the number of foreign students in Japan staying on for employment to 60% from the current 48% rate, as reported by the Japan Student Services Organisation. The majority of foreign students studying in Japanese universities are from China, followed by Vietnam.
Malaysia is host to diverse international campuses including Monash University in Australia and Xiamen University in China. As far back as 2010, Japan extended support for a jointly sponsored teaching centre in the form of the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology at the University of Technology Malaysia as a base for Japanese-style engineering education in South East Asia.